The Girl in Red
by Clary Adele Fairchild
Summary: Brittany Allen is a young CSI whose mother was murdered. However, when she's struck by lightning everything changes. Now she and her new partner have to stop the various metahumans in Central City. She is The Flash.
1. Chapter 1

My name is Brittany Allen. A few months ago, I took a trip to Starling City where I heard of a man with superhuman powers. There I met the vigilante known as the Arrow and I had to save his life. We managed to figure out a way to kill the superhuman before I returned home to Central City.

I worked at the CCPD as a crime scene investigator. I had a degree, but the main reason that I got the job was because my adoptive father was a senior detective. My father was still alive, but he had been serving life in prison for the murder of my mother, which I knew that he hadn't committed. I had seen the culprit. It was a man in a yellow suit that was superfast.

Of course, I hadn't worked in several months. I went home to watch the grand opening of the particle accelerator at STAR Labs, but it quickly exploded and the explosion mixed with a nearby bolt of lightning, which I was stuck by. I'm not even sure of the exact day that is. I know that I'm still alive. I would know if I was dead and I was pretty sure that I was going to wake up someday.

I had a crush on my adoptive sister and best friend. She was single when I last saw her, but I didn't know if things were still the same. I couldn't really see the world around me. I also didn't know if she even liked girls. It was hard to talk about things, because if I found that she didn't and she found out that I did, things would get weird between us.

That was before I heard noises. I didn't know who the people were. The sounds were more clear than before.

"Miss Park, you were involved in a very serious accident." A woman declared.

"Where am I?" Another woman, seemingly Miss Park answered.

At that time, I short awake. I noticed that I had been stripped my underwear and was an Asian woman in the bed next to me. There was also a long-haired Hispanic man and a woman with brown hair.

"Both of you within minutes of each other. That's freaky." The man declared.

"What's going on?" I questioned. It was then that I realized that I had seen the Asian woman before. She was local reporter Linda Park who had been covering the particle accelerator.

"Both of you need to calm down." The other woman declared. "You're at STAR Labs. I'm Dr. Caitlin Snow and this is Cisco Snow. I'll need urine samples from both of you."

"Not this second." Cisco cut her off.

"How about you get us some clothes?" Linda suggested.

"What is going on?" I repeated.

"You were struck by lightning. Miss Park was caught in the blast." Dr. Snow explained. "You have both been in comas ever since."

I then looked in the mirror and noticed something very different about my body.

"Lightning gave me abs?" I questioned.

"You muscles have been strangely regenerating." Dr. Snow stated. "Also Ms. Park has been producing small sparks from her hands."

"How long were we in a coma?" Linda asked. What comas the correct term even though we seemed to be collectively in one?

"Nine months." A man interrupted. We both looked to see an older man with glasses in a wheelchair. I then recognized him as Dr. Harrison Wells. "Welcome back, Ms. Allen, Ms. Park. We have a lot to discuss."

Later, both Linda and I were alone with him dressed in STAR Labs sweats. It seemed to be the only thing that they had available for us.

"It's hard to believe that I'm here. I've always wanted to meet you." I said.

"I was supposed to meet you face-to-face after the successful launch for an interview." Linda told him.

"Well maybe we can have that interview sometime." Dr. Wells quipped. "STAR Labs hasn't been operational since FEMA classified us as a Class 4 hazardous location. 17 people died that night. Many more were injured, the three of us included."

"What happened to my crew?" Linda questioned. I hadn't ever thought of them.

"One of them managed to escape, the rest were killed in the blast." He declared.

"What happened?" I questioned as we stared at the crater. He gave a very technical answer that I understood, but I wasn't sure if Linda did.

"Also, the hospital was having problems with the two of you, so we brought you both here." He added. "Detective West and his daughter both came to see you."

"Did anyone come to see me?" Linda asked.

"Your station manager popped by a few times, but he hasn't been by lately." Linda replied. It seemed like she didn't have the support system that I did. I wanted to hug her but I didn't know if it would be weird. We then headed back to the main lab.

"I need to go." She replied as she got up.

"You can't." Dr. Snow told us.

"I need to see my family." I argued.

"Caitlin is right." Dr. Wells replied. "We still have more tests that we need to run on both of you."

"I think both of us are fine." I declared. "Can we keep these clothes by the way?"

With that, the two of us exited the building. It was kind of weird being alone with her.

"Do you feel hungry too?" She asked.

"Extremely." I admitted. "Maybe we should go to Jitters?"

"Big Belly Burger has better food." She pointed out.

"Yeah, but there's someone that I want to see here." I declared. Of course, I didn't even know if she still worked there. The two of us walked inside and that was when I saw her. She practically tackled me.

"You're awake." Iris declared. "Why didn't STAR Labs call us?"

"I just woke up." I explained. "Iris, this is Linda Park. She was at STAR Labs with me."

"Yes, I remember her." Iris replied. "It's nice to meet you and I'm glad that you're awake too."

"I should go." Linda declared.

"No, you should stay. I'll get you both something." Iris declared. At that time, something strange happened. Someone ran into one of the waitresses. Okay, that wasn't strange, but was what strange was that time seemed to slow down. It only lasted for a second. "Are you okay, Tracy?"

"Yeah." Tracy declared before the lights flickered.

"My dad is going to be so happy." Iris stated. "Let me get my stuff."

Iris then walked off and I turned to Linda.

"Can I have your phone number in case you ever want to talk?" I asked. I then realized what I said. "I mean not come as a flirting thing. More as a friendly thing."

"I would but it got cut off. Apparently being in a coma in not an acceptable excuse for not paying your bill." She quipped. "Maybe you could give me your number and I can when I have a phone again."

From there, I went to the police station. I was embraced by Joe. To the average onlooker, seeing a large black man hugging a small white girl might look odd, but I never thought of Joe as more than a father figure.

"You scared the hell out of us, Kid." He told me.

"Yeah, that was quite the nap you took." The chief declared. "And you still look like you're in high school."

"You look okay." Joe said as he put his arm on my shoulder. "Are you really?"

"Yes." I confirmed. "I'm also ready to get back to work."

"Detective West. We've got a 550 at the Gold City Bank: 2 dead." An officer declared. "The storm is picking up so you should grab your rain gear."

"Sorry, Brittany, I have to go." He told me.

"Do you need my help?" I asked.

"No, you get your rest and take some time to settle in," He instructed. "I have my partner for this."

I found out that his partner was now Eddie Thawne,

"It's good to see you, Allen." He replied. "Hey Iris."

"Eddie, my dad doesn't like it when he's kept waiting." Iris declared before Eddie walked away.

"It's good to have you back." Eddie said before he walked away.

At that time, I saw a memorial to Joe's old partner. Iris explained that he had died the night of the explosion. I then saw a suspect reach for one of the officers' gun and quickly ran over to stop you.

"Fuck you." The perp declared before they took him away. How had I moved so fast?

"Are you okay?" Iris inquired.

"I'm fine." I stammered. "I need some air. I'll see you tonight."

I then stepped outside and noticed that my hand was shaking…no vibrating. I tried walking away, but I started running and then started running into things. I realized that I was running superfast. I couldn't believe it. I had super speed. I decided to head back to STAR Labs and tell them. Of course, I wasn't the only one.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, I got evicted, but then on the way out, I shot a laser through my door." Linda explains.

We went out to an old abandoned racecar track. I wasn't sure how it was supposed to help Linda, but I imagined they had a plan.

"So, one can create light and the other moves at the speed of light?" Caitlin asked. "I don't believe that this is happening right now. It can't be happening."

"It is happening." Cisco stated. "How does it fit?"

I was wearing a tight and ridiculous-looking red unitard. I was small, but I wasn't that small.

"It's tight." I remarked.

"Well, at least you'll be running so fast that no one will see in it." He quipped. "You thought everything was slowing down, but it was actually you that was speeding up. Dr. Wells will be monitoring your energy output and Caitlin your vitals."

"So, what do you do?" I asked.

"I make the toys." He said as he handed me a special headset. At that point, Caitlin came over.

"What?" She asked as she noticed that I was looking at her.

"Nothing. I just noticed that you don't smile much." I told her.

"My career in bioengineering is over, my boss in a wheelchair for life and the explosion that put you and Linda in a coma killed my fiancée. This blank expression suits me."

"Ms. Allen while I am eager to see all of your abilities, I do caution restraint." Dr. Wells declared.

I then started to run around the track. As I was running, all I could think about was that man that had killed my mom. That caused me to lose focus and crash into a construction barrel. I quickly learned that crashing at superspeed hurt a lot.

I then went inside the lab. It turned out that they were testing Linda's abilities while Caitlin was checking me out.

"It looks like your had a radius fracture." She explained.

"Had?" I asked.

"It's healed." She explained. "In three hours."

"How is that even possible?" I questioned.

"We don't know…yet." She admitted.

"You need to learn how to use your brakes." Cisco quipped.

At that point, Linda and Dr. Wells returned.

"How'd it go?" I asked.

"It seems Ms. Park can create beams of light strong enough to cut through steel." He explained. "What happened? You were doing so well? Did something cause you to lose focus?"

"I started thinking about something." I explained. I then noticed that everyone was looking at me. "When I was 11, my mother was murdered. It was late. I saw what looked like a ball of lightning. Inside the lightning, there was a man. He killed my mom. They arrested my dad. He's still in Iron Heights. Everyone told me that what I saw was impossible, but now I know it wasn't impossible. What if the man who killed my mom was like me?"

"I can say that you Miss Allen are one of a kind." Dr. Wells declared.

The next day, I went to see Iris, but I found her kissing Eddie. We ended up taking a walk together.

"You can't tell my dad about me and Eddie." She stated.

"It doesn't seem like anyone knows about it." I commented.

"It just kind of happened." She admitted.

"Isn't dating your partner's daughter against department regulations?" I asked.

"Why are you so upset?" She asked in confusion. I had to come up with a lie quick.

"I just don't like having to lie to your dad." I replied. Suddenly, a police car started to swerve towards us. I grabbed Iris and took cover. I then noticed the man that they were chasing. I started running and I jumped into his car. I took control of the wheel and caused us to crash. He got out and before I could do anything, he created a fog somehow and disappeared into it.

After everything happened, I tried to explain to Joe what happened, but it didn't go over well. He didn't believe me. He even chewed me out. I angrily went back to STAR Labs.

"Linda and I weren't the only ones affected by the particle accelerator explosion, were we?" I asked.

"We don't know for sure." Dr. Wells declared.

"I thought it was because the two of us were so close and that there was no residual danger, but that's not true, so what really happened that night?" I demanded.

Dr. Wells then gave me an explanation of what happened.

"All of that stuff is theoretical." I pointed out.

"And how theoretical are you?" He challenged. At that point, Linda walked in. She was wearing pajamas.

"What's with all of the yelling?" She asked.

"So far, you two are the only meta-humans we've found, but we think that there are others." He explained.

"Metahumans?" I asked.

"That's what we're calling them." Caitlin explained.

"I saw one today. He's a bank robber and he can control the weather." I stated.

"This just keeps getting cooler." Cisco commented.

"This is not cool!" I interrupted. "It's insane. A man was killed because of his fog. Martin must have gotten his powers the same way that we did: from the storm cloud. He's still out there."

"Well maybe we should try to stop him." Linda proposed.

"That's a job for the police." Dr. Wells stated.

"I work for the police." I pointed out.

"As a forensic assistant." He countered.

"You're responsible for this." I declared.

"What's important is the two of you. You have powers that could lead to numerous scientific advancements. We cannot risk losing everything because you want to go out there and play hero." Dr. Wells lectured.

"Well if this is how it's going to be, I'm out. I'll find somewhere else to stay. If movies have taught me anything, it's up to those with powers to save those without."

"You two aren't heroes. You're just two young women who were in the wrong place at the wrong time." He scolded.

I knew that there was only person that I could talk to. I started running. I had one place that I wanted to go. My jacket caught fire just before I got there. I went to the person that I needed to talk to. I gave a quick recap of what happened.

"So, why come to me?" He asked. I thought he was the only one who could understand. "Something tells me that you didn't just run 600 miles to say hi to a friend."

"All my life I've wanted to do more. Be more." I explained. "And now I am and the first chance I get to help someone, I screw up. What if Wells is right? What if I'm not a hero? What if I'm just some girl who was in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"I don't believe that bolt of lightning struck you, Brittany. I think it chose you." He replied.

"I'm just not sure that I'm like you, Oliver." I told him. "I don't know if I can be some vigilante."

"You can be better because you can inspire people in a way that I never could." He explained. "You can watch over your city like a guardian angel. You can make a difference and you can save people in a flash. Take your own advice. Wear a mask."

He then jumped off a building and I started to run back to Central City. I found Linda at Big Belly Burger.

"Let's be heroes." I told her before I took her back to STAR Labs. I wasn't sure what we were doing, but I wanted to make a difference. We met with Caitlin and Cisco. I've been going unsolved cases and there's been a sharp increase in unsolved deaths and missing people. Your metahumans have been busy. I'm not blaming you, but we need your help to catch Martin and anyone else like him. We can't do this without you."

"If we're gonna do this, I have something that might help." Cisco replied.

He took us to a room where there were two special suits. My was supposed to adapt to my speed and Linda's was supposed to adapt to any excess heat and had UV protection.

"Now just names needs for you two." He added.

"Well something involving light would work for me." Linda suggested.

"How about Dr. Light?" He proposed.

"Dr.? But I'm a reporter." Linda pointed out.

"It just sounds cooler." Cisco declared.

"Well I think I have one for me." I stated. They looked at me. "The Flash."

We found him on a farm. There was a tornado. A piece of debris started to fly at Joe and Eddie, but Linda cut it half, stopping its momentum.

"Barry, Linda, this thing is getting closer." Cisco explained. "It gets any faster it could become a Cat 5 Tornado."

"What if I run around it and unravel it?" I proposed.

"You'd have to hit 700 mph. Your body might not be able to handle that. You could die." Caitlin explained.

"If she can do, I might be able to knock him out of the air." Linda pointed out.

"I have to try." I remarked before I started to run. Eventually, I was blown away. "It's too strong."

"You can do this Brittany." Wells told me. "You were right. When I saw you two, all I saw were victims. I created this madness, but you two can stop it. You can do this. Now run."

I started again and the wind started to dissipate and then there was a flash of light which caused Martin to lose focus and slow down. The wind disappeared and then I saw Martin behind me with a gun.

"I didn't think that there was anyone else like me." He declared. Linda then came and punched him to the ground.

"We're not like you." She stated as she opened her mask. At that point, we saw Joe looking at the two of us with shock on his face.

In the morning, he was still surprised. Paramedics had arrived.

"So, that was lightning?" He asked.

"More or less." I stated.

"I'm sorry, Brittany. I'm sorry I didn't believe you." He apologized. "You must have really seen something that night your mom died and your dad is innocent, even if we can't prove it. I just don't want you to tell Iris."

"I need to go. I need to find somewhere to stay." Linda declared.

"I promise." I stated.

"Linda, I need to thank you and I'm sorry for your situation." Joe replied. "If there's anything that I can do to help, I will. Actually, why don't you come with us. We can put another bed in Brittany's room."

Later that day, I went to Iron Heights to see my dad.

"So you know I know you didn't kill Mom, right?" I asked.

"You believing me is all I need." He stated.

"I'm gonna get you out of here. Whoever, or whatever killed Mom, I think I may finally have a way to find them."

"Brittany, you need to let it go and stop worrying about me. Live your life." He replied. "I'm okay even if it is in here."

"For the first time, I feel like I finally can." I admitted. "The truth ever since the night Mom died, I've been stuck in once and missed out on a lot, but I'm different now. I've made some new friends and finally moved forward. I'm glad that people know that you're my dad. I'm so glad to be your daughter."

"I love you, Honey." He told me.

"I love you too, Daddy." I reciprocated as I put my hand against the glass.

My name is Brittany Allen. I'm the fastest woman alive, fastest person even. I am The Flash.

So this is a new story. I haven't seen anything with a female Barry and I thought that Linda could definitelNo oy get powers from being so close to explosion. Brittany is played by Caitlin Stasey. No one else will be genderswapped unless I decide otherwise. So will Brittany fall for her partner? Please don't forget to review.


	2. The Fastest Woman Alive

This is the part where I'm supposed to do the intro thingy. Brittany Allen, fastest girl alive, but you already know that stuff. So let's skip it to get to the good stuff. That smoke over there is a fire is on Western and 3rd in downtown Central City. The blur is me on my way to it. My currently speed is 352 MPH. This is me going slow.

"Brittany." Cisco interrupted.

"What?" I asked.

"You kind of missed the fire by six blocks." Linda told me. I knew that she would be on scene when the fire was out. It was mutually beneficial, she would be promoting me and I would be helping her career out.

Once I got there, I found that there was a lot of fire. I then heard a girl crying for her mom. I got her and all of the others out. I would let the fire department put out the fire, even though I probably could have done that too. I couldn't put people out of work.

"I got everyone out." I explained. "What else is there, Cisco."

"Brittany, it's Caitlin." A voice interrupted. We hadn't exactly told her what we were doing.

"Hi, Caitlin, how are you?" I asked nervously.

"Brittany, get back to STAR Labs now." She ordered.

"I'll be right there." I declared. I felt a brief headache before I headed back there.

"Are both of you completely insane?" Caitlin asked. "Who do you think you are?"

"Well I'm the eyes and ears, she's the feet and Linda's the mouth." Cisco explained.

"This isn't funny. You could have died. You can't be running around the city like some super firewoman." Caitlin scolded.

"Why not?" I challenged. "This is what we talked about. I am using my speed for something good."

"We talked about you and Linda helping us contain other people who might have been affected by the particle accelerator." She corrected. "Metahumans and Clyde Martin is the only one we've found."

"That doesn't mean that people in the city don't need to be helped. I can help them." I pointed out.

"We." Cisco stated. "All of us together can do this."

"Dr. Wells, please back me up." Caitlin replied.

"I think what Caitlin is trying to say is that we still don't know everything that your body is capable of." He remarked as he rolled his chair over. "I don't want to sound like a nag, but I caution restraint."

"Dr. Wells, with all due respect, I doubt restraint got you where you are today." I said.

"I'm in a wheelchair and a pariah." He declared. "Know your limits."

"I won't be there to patch you up every time you break something." Caitlin added.

At that time, my phone rang, which Cisco handed to me since I had no room for it in my suit. It was Joe that was telling me that I needed to be at a crime scene. I was surprised that I still found ways to be late.

"I have to go to work." I declared before I ran off. However, once I got there, I realized that I forgot to get changed. Luckily, there was a store nearby before I walked into the gun shop "Sorry I'm late."

"Doing a little fall shopping, Miss Allen?" Captain Singh quipped as I realized the dress still had the tag on it.

"I was moving so fast this morning I didn't notice." I lied.

Eddie then brought up the footage which showed one guy shooting the owner before shooting the camera. I then noticed something.

"Footage may only show one but there were six guys here." I replied. "The tracks intersect. It looks like the men all wore the same kind of and size of shoe. Size 10, like you Captain…not that you're a suspect."

Later, we were back at the station.

"Your ability to multitask is impressive: the way you can embarrass me, the captain, and yourself all at the same time." Joe said.

"Joe, I'm sorry,." I apologized.

"You apologize way too much." He replied.

"I'm dealing with a lot right now." I explained.

"Believe me. I'm dealing with it too." He stated. "I've always believed in simple physics and the fastest person could run a mile in four minutes, not four seconds."

"I could do it in three." I boasted. He just frowned. "That's not relevant though."

"You haven't said anything to Iris, have you?" He asked.

"No." I told him. "I made you a promise and I keep my promises."

"Don't lie unless you want to get struck by lightning again." He said. "Go to the lab and start processing the evidence."

I went to my lab and began to look at what we had collected. I tried to shake the vial to see if I could it without the scanner and managed to do so. However, immediately after, I felt a little dizzy and leaned over the table right next to it.

"This is all your fault." Iris declared as she walked into the room. "I could have taken European Folklore to satisfy my Sociology requirement but you suggested Journalism. You said reporters have all of the fun."

Well Linda seemed like she had a lot of fun, aside from the whole being in a coma as long as I was thing. She got to go all around the city and be on TV.

"Journalism sucks. I'm bored." She added.

"You look nice." I told her. She was wearing a light pink lace dress.

"Thanks, why don't you look nice?" She asked.

"Should I be dressed nice?" I questioned.

"Yes. Simon Stagg presenting at CCU. You promised to explain all the science stuff from my article." She reminded me.

"Right I forgot, but I'll still do it." I declared. "I just need to get changed."

"How long will that take?" She asked.

"Not long." I told her.

"Hey, Allen, Detective West wanted to know where you were in the evidence from the gun store case." Eddie interrupted. "Hello Iris."

"Eddie." She replied coldly.

"Just kiss already. I know you two are together." I pointed out before I went to my computer.

"Thanks for being so cool about this, Britt. I know it's not easy keeping such a big secret." He declared.

"I'm getting used to it." I muttered as I walked across the room.

Later, I was wearing a red velvet dress as Mr. Stagg started to speak. He was winning an award.

"So, for starters Simon Stagg's research in cellular cloning has led to huge advancements in the field of organ transplants…" I replied before I realized that Iris had grabbed some champagne.

"Ooh, are journalists allowed to drink on the job?" She asked.

"If you're bored already, wait till we get to the science behind cellular regeneration." I replied as I took the drinks and put them back.

"I missed this, Britt. I missed my BFF." She stated. "I feel like we haven't had any quality time together since you got out of your coma."

"I've had a crazy few weeks." I admitted.

"I thought you were avoiding me because of Eddie." She admitted. "I know you think it's wrong for me to date my dad's partner…"

"No it's not that." I interrupted. "It's just…"

She then noticed Mr. Stagg.

"Oh, Mr. Stagg, can I get a quote for my article?" She asked. His bodyguard shot her down. "Oh well, I'll just make something up. Now what were you going to say?"

Before I could get a word out, we were interrupted by a gunshot.

"Quiet, all of you." The man with the gun said. "How consider that you're all wearing your finest jewelry. It's like you knew we were coming to rob you. Now everybody line up right now."

I couldn't help but notice how similar all of the men looked. They all had the same color eyes. However, the security guard then showed up. He was pretty brave trying to take on six armed men. It was pretty stupid, but also pretty brave. They all fired. I ran over and got the man out of the way and out of fire before running up to the roof. As soon as I was up there, I passed out.

"Brittany! Brittany!" Iris's voice said as I woke up. "I turned around and you were gone. What happened? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I went after them to see if I could get a plate, but I fainted." I explained.

We went back down and we found that Joe and Eddie were there. The security guard was telling the story of what happened. Joe pulled me aside.

"You chased those gunmen, didn't you?" He asked.

"Yeah, must have been the same guys from the store today." I told him.

"What were you going to do when you caught them?" He challenged. "Are you bulletproof?"

"No." I answered.

"Well don't try to be a hero. Chasing bad guys is not your job. It's mine." He replied.

I then went to STAR Labs and met up with everyone.

"You lied to us. How could you not tell us that you're experiencing dizzy spells?" Caitlin asked. "We're your doctors."

She then went into something that I didn't understand. Linda looked equally confused.

"Mini-stroke, probably not though." Dr. Wells declared.

"You of all people should know that in science we share. We do not keep secrets." Caitlin scolded.

"Wow, I haven't seen anyone make her that angry since Ronnie." Cisco replied before he walked off.

"So, Ronnie was Caitlin's fiancé?" Linda asked. "He died in the explosion, right?"

"Yes." Wells confirmed. "Have you been experiencing any strange phenomena, Miss Park?"

"Just occasional glowing." Linda responds. "Fortunately, my skin is so light, it's hard to tell."

"Well, let's find out why this is happening." Dr. Wells remarked.

I was then moved to a treadmill.

"Most home treadmills have a speed of 12mph. This one has been modified to handle your speed." He told me before I started running. I kept running until I fell off the treadmill and flew into the boxes of packing peanuts that Cisco had set up. It was still very painful to crash into.

When I woke up, I was in a bed.

"Did I pass out again?" I asked.

"Yeah, you're not eating enough." Linda responds.

"Well maybe I should have an IV bag." I suggested.

"You've already had several." Cisco explained.

"We'll need to update your diet to deal with the change in your metabolism." Caitlin added.

"We need to consume approximately 850 tacos." Cisco declared.

"For Mexican I'd recommend Tito's." Joe interrupted. "They have the best burrito in the city."

"Detective West, what brings you to STAR Labs?" Dr. Wells asked as I nervously took a seat on the bed.

"When I couldn't find you at your lab, I started doing research. Turns out there's been reports of a red streak running around town, rescuing people from buildings and stopping muggers." Joe replied.

"You didn't tell him that we were working together." Dr. Wells said.

"You already have a job in law enforcement, Brittany. I suggest you get back to it." Joe declared.

"Don't look at me. I agree with you." Caitlin stated.

"Detective, we all want what's best for Brittany." Dr. Wells replied.

"If you wanted what's best for her, you wouldn't be encouraging her to go out there and risk her life." Joe told him.

"You saw a man control the weather." I pointed out. "What are the police going to do against that? Since the accelerator explosion, we think that there may be more like him."

"And what are you going to do? Catch them?" Joe challenged. "You think that because you can run really fast, you're invincible, but you're not. You're just a kid, my kid."

"I'm not your kid. Joe." I argued. "And you're not my father. My father is in Iron Heights, wrongfully convicted. You were wrong about him and you are wrong about this. Now I may not be able to help him, but if I can save someone from a burning building or stop some armed thieves, I'm gonna do it and you can't stop me."

"You think you're so smart, you all do." Joe accused. "But what you don't know is dangerous and I hope you figure it out before someone gets killed."

The next day, I was in my lab. I had already gone through two dozen donuts. Joe walked in.

"Did you come to yell at me again?" I asked.

"Simon Stagg's head of security was murdered last night." He said. "I was hoping you could run the prints. I'm going to go interview Stagg."

"I'll come with you." I suggested.

"No. I need you here." He replied before he left.

"Why is my dad mad at you?" Iris asked as she entered.

"Work stuff." I replied. I then realized something. "Why are you mad at me?"

"Your were supposed to meet me at Jitters an hour ago to go over some science stuff." She said. "Now I have to find something new or I fail the assignment."

"Iris…" I started. I couldn't believe that I had forgotten about it.

"Don't say you're sorry. I know you are." She replied. "What I don't understand is what's going on with you. We grew up right down the hall from each other. Do you honestly not think I know when you're happy or sad or depressed or lost? I'm gonna ask you one last time Brittany Allen what the f…"

I started to go superfast, so fast that she was basically standing still. I knew I couldn't tell her because I had promised Joe. Immediately after I stopped, my machine beeped.

"We are not done talking." She said as I went over to it.

"That's impossible." I declared. "These cells are naïve, stem cells. They can replicate and become whatever the body needs, but these only come from babies."

"So what is this killer a newborn?" She asked.

I went downstairs and found that everyone was putting on riot gear.

"Captain, what's going on?" I asked.

"Not now, Brittany, multiple armed gunmen are shooting up Stagg Industries." He said. You know it was interesting how he said not now, but still told me exactly what I wanted to know.

"Joe's there." I remarked. I ran upstairs and grabbed my suit. I had to save him.

I managed to get there quickly. I found Joe facing three identical men. I knocked their guns out.

"Go." I told Joe.

"No." He responded. I then rushed him outside before I went back to the men…man.

"Whoever you are, give yourself up." I declared.

"We're not going anywhere, little girl, until Simon Stagg is dead." They all said. I started to attack and was winning, but more guys kept popping out. I was outnumbered. They then got their guns back.

"Don't you think six against one is a little unfair?" A voice asked before there was a flash of light. They each went down, but I knew it was still not a fair fight. I grabbed Linda and took her outside and far away.

We then headed back to STAR Labs.

"You got blood on my suit." Cisco complained.

"I think some of it belongs to him, another not so friendly metahuman." I replied.

"His name is Danton Black, a cellular researcher who specialized in cellular cloning. His lawsuit alleges Stagg stole his research and fired him." Dr. Wells explained.

"Well he created duplicates of himself." I stated.

"That's pretty ironic. The guy specialized in cloning and now he can clone himself." Cisco noted.

"If he was experimenting on himself when the dark matter hit…" Dr. Wells replied.

"Meet Captain Clone." Cisco interrupted. We all stared at him. "Don't worry, I'll come up with something cooler."

I then started my way out.

"Where are you going?" Caitlin asked.

"Joe's right. I'm in over my head. I could barely fight one metahuman, let alone six." I explained.

"Brittany, I understand. Today was a setback, but we can never learn to fly without crashing a few times." Dr. Wells told me. "You can't have a grand enterprise without some missteps."

"This isn't a grand enterprise but it was a misstep." I stated before I left.

I then headed to Jitters where Eddie and Iris were. They were running a story about Eddie on TV.

"That was nice work, Eddie." I told him.

"I was just doing my job." He replied.

"No, you were a hero." I responded.

"I'll see you back at the precinct." Eddie remarked before he gave me a pat on the shoulder.

"So, did you come here for caffeine or are you going to tell me what's going on?" Iris asked as she walked over to me.

I didn't know what to say to her. I decided to get a lot of food. It would be hard to explain my new diet.

"It looks like you were hungry." She stated after I was done.

"Stress eating." I lied. "I need to say I'm sorry. You're right. I've been distant."

"Correct." She agreed.

"And kind of a bitch." I added.

"You should apologize more because you're pretty good at it." She quipped. "So what were you going to tell me the other day?"

"I thought I needed to do something, something important, but I kind of suck at it." I explained. "But what I am good at is being your BFF, so if you need help coming up with a new topic for the article, just ask me."

"I already found something." She replied. "It's been all over the internet and the news. All of around town there have been strange occurrences."

I then realized that she was talking about me. This was awkward.

"This seems more like science fiction than journalism." I commented nervously.

"Ever since I have known you, you believed in the impossible." She stated. "What if you were right? What if you were right about the night your mom died?"

At that moment, I noticed a phone call.

"I don't want to talk now, Linda." I replied.

"We need to get to STAR Labs right away." She said. "Cisco texted me that Black is there."

I went to her to apartment and picked her up before we went to the lab and found Black standing there.

"Brittany, it's okay." Dr. Wells said.

"How is this okay?" Linda asked. "Black is right here…why isn't he moving?"

"It's not him. It's one of his replicants." Dr. Wells told us. Now I was confused.

"How did you get him?" I questioned.

"I grew him." Caitlin said with a smile. She then gave a scientific explanation that was hard to put into words.

"Why isn't he moving?" Linda asked again.

"It seems like the clones are more of receivers. Without Black, they can't do anything. Shut down Black and you shut down the clones." Caitlin explained.

"How do we figure which one is the real one?" I inquired.

"Well Black has human limits just like you." She replied. "Controlling all of the clones requires physical strength. Look for the one showing signs of weakness or fatigue."

"It's just a theory, but it might work out for you two." Wells responded.

"Also, I have some high calorie protein bars to keep your metabolism up." Cisco added. Suddenly, the clone started to twitch. Then without warning, it was shot dead.

"Are there any more of them?" Joe asked.

"Why did it start moving?" I responded.

"A call to battle. The prime must be going somewhere." Dr Wells replied.

"I know where they're going: Stagg Industries." Joe explained.

"You should call it in." I suggested.

"Police can't fight this. What Black's become, like Martin, like the two of you, is found beyond me." Joe replied. "I'm sorry, for doubting you, Brittany. You have to do this. So, for once in your life, do what I tell you to do. Go stop him."

Linda and I put our clothes on and went to Stagg Industries. I didn't know if we would get there before him or not. Black was about to shoot when I grabbed Stagg and took him back to his office.

"Wait here." I told him.

I then went back down to Black.

"You really think you can beat me, little girl?" He taunted. I knew we could.

"Now." I remarked as there was another flash. I quickly shut my eyes and reopened them as I noticed the men were on the ground. "Just because Stagg stole your research doesn't give you the right to kill him."

"This isn't about my research. This is about my wife." He said. "She had a degenerative coronary disease. She was on the transplant list but time was running out. I was going to grow her a new heart. I was so close until Stagg stole my research."

It was at that moment that I noticed one of them was sweating and ran him into a pole to knock him out.

"Brittany." Joe called over my comm. "Brittany, are you alright?"

"I'm fine." I declared.

"Brittany, look out." Linda yelled. I then noticed Black running at me. I dodged and he fell out the window. I grabbed onto him but he reproduced another hand where mine was, causing him to fall to his death.

I then went back to the lab while Linda was on TV reporting on the story.

"I tried to save him." I told them.

"I don't think he wanted to be saved." Dr. Wells replied. That didn't make me feel any better. "Sometimes when people break, they can't be put back together."

"Well at least Multiplex won't be able to hurt anyone else." Cisco declared. "Told you I'd come with a cooler name."

"How is a naming him after a movie theater cool?" Caitlin asked.

"It may just be me and Linda fighting these bad guys, but at least for me, it feels like you're all out there with me." I explained.

I then went back to my lab where I found Joe with three pizzas.

"You were wrong." He told me as I opened the first box.

"I've been wrong a lot this week, so you'll have to be more specific." I pointed out.

"You said one of the things driving you to run around was the fact that you couldn't help your dad." He said. "The truth is that you can. We can. We just need some proof that he didn't kill her."


End file.
